


Pick Your Poison

by Rainpebbles



Series: The Impala Series [2]
Category: Firefly, Supernatural
Genre: Angst, Bromance, Crime, Destiel - Freeform, Firefly crossover, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Sabriel - Freeform, Slow Build, psychologically damaged castiel, supernatural family, whump!Castiel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-24
Updated: 2015-10-24
Packaged: 2018-04-27 22:27:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 18,439
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5066911
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rainpebbles/pseuds/Rainpebbles
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Part II: Impala Series. Dean and his crew are hired by a shady character to run a train heist. They didn't ask the details, and now that has come back to bite them. Now Sam and Dean are being held up by feds, and the rest of the crew is left to fend for themselves. Supernatural twist on Train Job from Firefly. Hints of Sabriel and Destiel.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Notes: So here is Part II of the Impala Series! This one is based off the episode Train Job. Get ready for train heist shenanigans!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from either Firefly or Supernatural. Purely for entertainment purposes only!

CHAPTER 1

Dean and Sam sit at a dented up wooden table in some decrepit bar that they can't remember the name of. They don't talk as they play a game of mahjong, the tiles clinking softy as they move them about the table. Off to the other side of the bar Meg walks back to their table with a fresh jiu drink and Balthazar is also walking back to the table after talking with a man at the bar. Instead of sitting down when they reached the table however, Balthazar steps behind Dean to look at Dean's hand as he lays down his next tile.

Taking a sip of his drink Balthazar comments, "That's a bold move."

Dean answers tersely, "I like to live on the edge."

Sam and Balthazar both chuckle at this. This was a given fact, and then Sam puts down a tile and wins that hand. Balthazar really laughs at the look on Dean's face as he drops his remaining tiles down in frustration. Meg just smirks like usual.

"Maybe you should move a bit back from the edge there Dean." Meg's teasing always sounds so condescending to Dean. He chooses to ignore her and focus his glare at Sam.

"I was trying to be a good big brother and let Sammy here win to help his self esteem."

Sam's answering snort was drowned out by a dank and moldy looking and loud individual back up by the bar.

"A toast! A toast to…SHUT UP! I've got words that need being said. This is a very special day." He pauses for effect and looks around the bar. Dean and Sam have both tensed visibly and gripped their cups a bit tighter, making Balthazar wary and a bit nervous, but he plays it cool for now. Meg chooses to just ignore everyone and just eats the offered peanuts on the table.

"As you all know, today is…Unification day! The day where the planets were put under one government and one glorious flag and them dirty, rebellious, scumbag Hunters were cut down! And a new galaxy was born! Whooo!" He downs the drink in his hand and smashes the glass on the floor. The rest of the bar echoes his enthusiasm and downs their drinks. Dean just grabs his mug and heads towards the bar. Sam tried to grab his arm as he walked by, but Dean sidestepped the reach easily. Both brothers knew what was coming. It had happened enough in the past.

Balthazar didn't know about the drama that was going off in their minds, so he just started talking about how boring the government holiday was and how people got sentimental and dull instead of having real fun. The Chinese New Year was where it was at according to him, but neither Sam nor Meg was listening.

Meanwhile, Dean had reached the bar and asked for a refill. Right next to him was the loud speech maker who was watching Dean. As Dean received his drink the moldy looking man clapped him on the shoulder, "Drink with me brother!"

"No thanks. I'm just going to go back to my table." As he left a hand grabbed his arm, this time Dean let it happen.

"You know, that colt you're wearing…last time I saw one of those was during the war…and as I recall it was the choice weapon of the Hunters." The suspicion in his voice was heard all over the bar.

"It was shiny looking." Dean responded deadpan.

"Saw you and your friends. None of you joined us in the toast. I'm starting to think you're one of them Hunters."

"And I'm starting to think that you don't know how to work a shower. So why don't we both just walk away and enjoy our drinks from this fine establishment." Dean half turned to walk away, but then faced the man when he continued to talk.

"Hunters ain't nothing but cowardly, sneaky, trouble makers who don't know when to back down." He turned back to the bar snorting into his mug.

"How about you say that to my face?"

Putting down his mug, the man turned around again and repeated himself to Dean with his face so close to Dean's that his eyes started to water from the pungent odor coming from the man's rotten teeth.

"I said, Hunters ain't nothing but cowardly, sneaky, and hard of hearing, trouble makers. What do you gotta say to that?"

"Nothing, I just wanted you to turn around for this." And Dean slams his mug into his jaw. He was very satisfied to hear a crack the cup made contact with the bone in the man's face. And Dean was even more satisfied when he fell to the ground and stayed there unconscious.

By this time Sam and Balthazar have gotten up and are trying to get through the crowd to reach Dean. Meg staying behind to finish her drink, she hadn't been in the war, so it wasn't her problem. Sadly, the downed man had friends it seemed, and now they were circling around Dean.

Dean just smiled brightly at everyone. "Hey guys, doesn't have to be like this. It's a holiday, right?" Then all hell broke loose and five men ran forward at Dean. Balthazar and Sam had snuck into the fray and started to even the odds, but the drunks got some good punches in and Sam was not sore in the ribs from where a very short individual continued to punch him, and Balthazar was going to have one hell of a shiner when he woke up the next day. Dean was holding his own, and was even having a bit of fun working out his frustrations. That is until he gets thrown out the window.

He decides to take his time while he's "out for some air" to call up Gabriel on his comm device.

"Hey Gabe, people here had a bit too much to drink. How about you come pick us up?"

Balthazar and Sam came flying out of the bar after that with the drunks following after. By this time Sam has taken his gun out and Balthazar has positioned himself behind Sam. The drunks don't move much closer, but they still looked pissed as shaken bag of wasps.

Balthazar is panting, "Where the hell is Meg?"

At that moment gunfire is heard coming from inside the bar. Like the red seas parting, a path is formed as Meg walks out of the bar holding her gun high ready to shoot again if the drunks wouldn't get out of her way. She walks closer to her crew, but not too close in case the remaining men were stupid enough to attack again. She looked far to calm and was holding one of the bowls of peanuts in her hands, chewing away. Sam just shook his head at this.

Dean was trying to count the remaining thugs. "Well…there seems to be four of us versus…a herd of you." He turns to Sam. "This is why we lost the war. Superior numbers."

Balthazar looked less than impressed. "Thank you for the reenactment Captain."

The drunks finally found their own gun belts and pulled their weapons to point at the small crew. They were far too intoxicated to notice that the opposition didn't look nervous or worried. They didn't see that really all that they looked like was impatient.

Suddenly there was a loud rumble of an old-time engine and a shadow moved over the crowd. The Impala hovered over everyone threateningly. The P.A. system screamed, and then Gabriel's voice sounded. "All of you drop your weapons or we will blow this shindig to kingdom come."

All weapons were dropped and the drunks stepped back. The Impala let down the ramp and the crew ascended into the offered haven. Dean took a moment to turn back and offer another shit eating grin to the cowed drunks before moving up into his ship with a bit of a hop to his step.

Balthazar was mumbling for the next hour. "Bunch of bullocks….just wanted a bloody drink….damned Captain….damned holidays…can't even bloody tell that there are no bloody guns on a bloody transport ship…."

 

 

Sam and Dean head towards the bridge after the scuffle, Sam sending dirty looks at his brother the whole way.

"You know Dean, it's an amazing coincidence that every year on Unification day after the war we find ourselves in a Garrison friendly bar. And how you always end up starting a fight." Dean pretended to not notice the dripping sarcasm in his brother's voice.

"You know, you're right Sammy? I never noticed before. That is quite the coinkydink." He smirks at his little brother. They spot Gabriel in his pilots chair raising an eyebrow at the two.

"Deanie-baby. You getting Sam and my little brother involved in a fight at school? Tsk tsk."

"Had it all under control Gabe. Thanks for picking us up though. The transbus is so lame."

Sam just sighs and leans against the doorway. "Did we at least make contact?"

"Indeed we did. Gentlemen, we have a job." Balthazar walks in saying this and hands a slip of paper he had gotten from his friend at the bar to Dean who smiles.

"Alright guys, fire up the engines. We've got work to do."

Gabe whooped from behind him, "Yeah! We got us some crime to be done!"

And with that the Impala started off to its next destination.

 

 

Bobby and Balthazar were sitting quietly in the dining area where the preacher was putting ice on Balthazar's eye. Castiel had immediately offered to heal the wound, but he had his hands pushed back with Balthazar telling him he didn't like seeing his baby brother weak, that it would hurt him to use Catiel more than any black eye could. Castiel felt a little bit dejected, so he moved to the coffee table where he had placed the potted plant that Anna had given him to care for.

It was a very unkempt plant to be nice, and he had told this to Anna who looked startled and then apologized for the condition. The vines had grown out of control and were pouring out the sides of the pot all tangled and limp. There were no flowers yet, and the buds were still immature, it was not the prettiest thing that he had seen before. But Castiel could fix this. He remembered having a garden back…back in their old home. He remembered sitting outside reading his books and having bees land on the pages and walking along the edge of the spine. There were no bees here, going outside would ultimately end up in his death by implosion or suffocation, and home didn't exist anymore.

Heaving a big sigh, Castiel started to continue his work of untangling the vines. There were old thorns on each finger of the plant and he cut himself on one of them. He didn't even flinch in pain, but he still looked at the blood that had welled up on his finger.

He had seen far too much blood, he thought. Suddenly he was in another room. It was a white room with machines placed all around making repetitive noises that grated on his ears. People in white coats and rubber gloves were poking at him with needles, making him flinch, making him bleed. He was lying on his stomach, strapped down. Then he felt the hands touch his back….

Castiel started screaming and grabbing the sides of his head. His high pitched wail didn't stop his brother and Bobby from rushing forward with their ears covered. He felt Balthazar grabbing his shoulders and shaking. He was probably trying to say something, but Castiel couldn't hear him. He was trying to drown out the sounds of those machines. He continued to scream away the terrors.

Suddenly he felt a stinging pain on his cheek and he stopped the shrieking. Dean was there in front of him, his hand still partially raised. Breathing heavily Castiel looked around wildly for any signs of being back at the Host. Seeing the tan walls and old furniture, he was assured that he was still on the Impala. Sam had also arrived in the room.

"Hey Cas, you okay?" Castiel didn't answer Dean. He was still looking around the room. This time he noticed broken glass from the dishware that couldn't handle his wail. He felt guilt at this and looked down.

Balthazar moved forward, "Were you thinking of the Host?"

"It is not of import. I apologize for the trouble." Everyone ignored the apology.

"If you can talk about what happened there... I know it's hard but the more we know, the faster you'll get better," Sam promised.

"I don't want to be made "better". They already made me "better". I just want…to fix the plant." Castiel used air quotes to convey emphasis on the ridiculous term. He watched as Dean sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Probably in frustration. Castiel knew he was being frustrating. But the bruises and cuts on Dean's knuckles drew his attention.

"I can fix that."

Dean looked at where Cas was looking and saw his bloodied and swollen hand. "This? This is nothing, no need to waste your mojo." He smiled at Castiel, it was probably meant to be comforting.

Sam snorted behind him. "Yeah, I bet the face of whoever you hit thinks differently."

Turning to look at his younger brother Dean responded, "People say not to hit with a closed fist, but it can on occasion be hilarious." And the dark mood left the people in the room. They all started to smile a bit. But not Castiel. He had just gotten hit in the face with an open hand, and he didn't find it funny at all.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from either fandom.

CHAPTER 2

People drifted out of the room, leaving Balthazar to watch over Castiel as he continued to work on untangling the vines. On his way out, Bobby and Dean were stopped by Gabriel who had come from the bridge.

"Hey Captain, Preacher man, is Cassy okay? What happened?" He may have tried to sound casual, but they could hear the strain in his voice.

"Had a little flashback it seems. But he had calmed down a bit." The three men turned to look into the room with Castiel just in time to see him push Balthazar away and knock over the potted plant looking exasperated and close to tears. Balthazar tries to comfort him only to be pushed away again.

Gabriel looks skeptical, "Yeah, he is really showing some marked improvement. He's gone from dreamy McSteamy, to Grumpy Gills. "

Bobby broke in, "Is this how you were when you got out?" Gabriel gave him a dark look but answered.

"No. I was angry, there is no doubt there. I still am angry, but Castiel…they must have ripped out all the precious things that made him Castiel to make space for what they wanted to add. His body is just trying to find equilibrium again, a balance of who is was and who they made him. He's got a lot to sort through." He looked over at his little brother as he picked up the potted plant and started scooping the soil back in and then started back in on the vines. Balthazar quietly sitting nearby.

"Well, hopefully he "finds his balance" before we run out of dishware. Pretty soon we'll be eating off of wooden blocks and drinking from puddles on the floor." Internally Dean was not pleased to hear about Cas' internal struggle. The very thought of what could have been done sent unpleasant shivers through him. Bobby looked equally uncomfortable with the thought.

"We will all do our best to help him out," he said.

"Thank you both for that. There aren't many people who would actually offer to help out a mentally unstable fugitive who can shatter glass with his voice."

Bobby huffed and added, "Aren't many who would take him in either." He said looking pointedly at Dean. Gabriel looked interested at this, "Why did you decide to let us stay Dean?"

Dean felt even more uncomfortable. He did not want to talk about this.

"Because I need a pilot, I need new contacts, and we needed a new set of dishes anyway." Bobby and Gabriel both chuckled at this.

"Boy you're daft if think for a second that we believe that. I wonder if even you know why you are doing this."

"Well what about you preacher? Why fly around with us criminals? Shouldn't you be out bringing God into the lives of all of those fuzzy-wuzzies out there in the verse?"

"Oh I've got heathens a plenty right here."

"If I'm your mission here Sheppard then you best stop right there. Your welcome on my ship, but God is not." Dean meant it to be harsh, but it seemed to just bounce right off Bobby and have no effect. Again Dean appreciated the old man's spunk.

 

 

Later on that day Castiel found himself in Anna's shuttle with Balthazar and Chuck. Balthazar had brought them both here when he saw how scruffy and dirty Castiel had become after working with the plant's soil and how greasy Chuck seemed to be at all times. Castiel had to agree that the grittiness was not pleasant in any way. Balthazar knew that Anna would have soaps and grooming supplies. He dragged both of them to her quarters and as soon as Anna laid eyes on them she knew why they had come and started bringing out her cleaning oils.

Castiel had thought that Anna would stop at just washing his hands and getting the dirt out from under his nails, but she said something about hygiene being a good way to feel more "human". He wasn't sure what she meant by that, but he didn't ponder long because he was enjoying her ministrations far too much to focus on anything.

She was rubbing some kind of shampoo into his hair that smelled of lavender. The scent was lovely and brought him back to his garden. He heard his brother talking to the squirrely man about the wonders of soap and clean clothes. Castiel thought that Chuck smelled like the ship, and didn't think anything was wrong with that. Dean smelled like the ship too. And speaking of Dean…

The captain came stumbling into the shuttle speaking, "Hey Anna, have you seen…. What the hell?!" He seemed upset about something. But Castiel couldn't be bothered as he was quite content.

Dean was indeed upset. Here he was trying to run a decent ship with a somewhat legitimate business and when he needed his mechanic, he finds him getting his hair and nails done! Dean might have expected to find Balthazar in here as he always reeked of cologne and his hair was always perfectly styled. Hell, Dean might even have expected Sam in here getting his girly locks combed out. But he did not expect his mechanic and….was that Castiel?! Getting his hair shampooed? He stood there gaping for a good while. Anna was the first to pay any attention to him.

"What have I said about entering my shuttle without permission?"

That snapped Dean out of his freaked out trance, "That it was manly and impulsive?"

"I believe my exact wording was, "Don't"."

"Well if you're going to hold my mechanic hostage when my ship has things needing to be done, then I will do what I have to so this ship stays in the air. We work before we play…or braid our hair. Anyway, did the three of you grow ovaries or something?"

"Oh please captain, a little hygiene never hurt anyone. In fact I think that Anna is doing a service to the ship by making our crew presentable." Balthazar was casually sniffing each of the bottles that Anna had out.

Chuck looked like he had been caught with his hands down his pants, which since he was in here indulging himself, he kind of had been. He ran out the door with a mumbled apology and soap foam still on his half shaven face. Anna rolled her eyes and looked annoyed at Dean.

"Was there another reason you barged in here?"

"We have a job thanks to Mr. Hair Gel over there."

"I see. Does this job happen to be on a planet with respectable clients on it?"

"Isn't respectable clients kinda of a contradiction?"

"Don't start Dean," she said warningly.

"No location as of yet, but we are meeting up on a skyplex with some guy called Dick Roman."

Balthazar looked up at this. "My contact is sending us to him?"

"Yeah, that's who the number he gave us contacted. Have you heard about this guy?"

"Nothing good. We should watch ourselves. And you my dear should stay in the ship while we are at this meeting," he said to Anna. She looked to Dean and smirked, "Seems we have at least one gentleman on this ship." Castiel finally opened his eyes and looked up at Anna looking worried.

"Am I not a gentleman? I apologize if I have not been courteous. I am aware that I am not the most experienced at social interactions, but…" She cut him off. "Don't you worry about a thing angel, I think you are very sweet." Castiel looked confused at this.

"I…I don't understand. Is that a flirtation?" She laughed and continued to clean his hair. Castiel's eyed drifted closed again as Dean shook his head and turned to walk out the door.

He poked his head back in a second later, "You got time to do my hair too?"

"Out!"

Dean smiled and winked as he finally left. He heard Castiel start talking again as he left.

"Did you know that we chare 50% of our DNA with bananas? We're practically cousins…."


	3. Chapter 3

Notes: Hello all! I had fun with this chapter, I really did. Hopefully you'll like it too.

Disclaimer: I own nothing here.

CHAPTER 3

Dean walks with Sam and Balthazar down a distractingly shiny hallway. They were covered on all sides by big thugs that reminded him of cavemen that even made Sam look like he was of normal height and build. With this and Balthazar's cautious warning earlier, Dean was so tense his jaw was twitching noticeably.

They were led to a big metal door. One thug pressed the comm. to announce their arrival. Sam was impressed that the cavemen could actually talk. There was no answer, but the door opened and that seemed enough of a welcome that Dean and his crew walked forward.

Upon entering they saw a very formal looking man that seemed like he just walked out of a Garrison senate. Dean immediately thought, "greasy" as the best way to describe him. His voice was also annoyingly formal as he turned with a flourish to greet them.

"Welcome, which one of you is Dean Winchester?"

"That's me. This is my first mate Sam, and our business partner Balthazar."

"Excellent. I am Dick Roman. I am glad you could come. It has been hard finding people to work lately."He smiled softly at this and it sent shivers down the Impala crew's spines. Dean was starting to see why people might not want to work with this guy if he gave off this freaky aura.

"Yeah, well, we always appreciate having work."

"Wonderful! It is an exciting job for sure! Tell me, have you ever worked a train before?"

Dean and Sam exchanged looks. "We've hit a few."

"And are you going to ask me what it is on the train?"

"As a policy, no."

"So considerate of you. I like it. And I have heard of you Dean Winchester. You have a reputation, you know? Yes, you do the job and you get paid?"

"Sounds about right Mr. Roman."Dean's thoughts went straight to his parting words to Ruby.

"Oh, Dick please. And do you know about reputation? It's talk. Gossip among the lesser ones. But it can also be used as a tool. You may have heard about my own reputation. Not so pleasant as I've been informed." He smiles at this. Balthazar sucks in a quiet breath next to Dean. He never told Dean exactly what he had heard about this guy besides that it was "not good".

Dick starts moving towards the other door in his office and opens it casually. But what was inside was anything but normal. Strung up in the center of the room was a young man covered in bloody cuts and welts. He looked dead until Dick moved up to the poor guy and suddenly stabbed him with a very large knife. The man struggled and screamed for a moment before stuttering out his last breaths.

The suddenness of it all startled the three members of the Impala crew. Things went from a formal business greeting, to murdering a man in front of them to make a point. It was terrifying how casual Dick had done this. Like a monster who simply made a living off of killing people like this all the time. Dean sent Sam a quick look to keep quiet. This was no time to stick up for what was right and wrong. This was the time to shut up and listen. And they all listened when Dick continued to speak.

"Well, now you can see that my reputation is not simply gossip. It is fact. This man here did not do his job and he most certainly did not get paid. Do you understand?"

"Sure do Dick," Dean choked out with a very plastic smile.

"I'm very happy to hear that. So I'm going to give you this job. Pay attention because I do not allow for any failures." Behind him a large silver box was rolled in on a dolly. "I want you to get on the train at Hancock going to Paradisio. In the fifth car there is going to be a box just like this one. I want you to exchange the boxes. Bring the silver box back to me. You will meet my men here to make the exchange for your payment." He points to small section on a map. "You get half your money now and the other half when you meet at the rendezvous point. You mess this up, then your reputation is just gossip to me, and we have a problem then." Dean simply nods. He's damn proud that he was able to look this guy in the eye as they shook hands without trembling as they left. He had never felt so nervous before.

As the three crew members of the Impala were walking down the hall to their ship, Dean turned to place his hand on Balthazar's chest, stopping him midstep. Dean looked him seriously in the eye and asked, "Who is this guy?"

"He's a grizzly bear crossed with a snake, all cleverly disguised as a scorpion." Balthazar didn't smile at all when he said this.

 

 

They trudge back into the Impala and bump into Castiel as they walk through the dining area. He is there with Bobby and Anna making what looked like sandwiches. He looked up and smiled brightly when he saw them enter. He awkwardly picked up three plates and juggled them as he moved quickly up to the weary trio.

"Here, please accept these sandwiches as an apology. They are the last three plates we have and Bobby and Anna thought it was a good idea to apologize for all of the broken dishes. I cut away all of the mold on the bread that I could find. There were some leftover tomatoes from last week that were still sort of okay. No lettuce, no mayonnaise or pickles or even real meat….but I cut some of the protein blocks as thin as possible to resemble sliced meat! I assure you they will cause no harm to ingest. "

He looked so eager to please that each of them felt obligated to eat the iffy meal he offered, but that obligation was hard to meet with that kind of description of the food. The three took the plates from Castiel and started to subtly inspect the meal.

Sam was the first to speak, "Um, thanks Castiel. Looks….tasty." He did not move to start eating it though.

"Yeah, what he said. Tasty." Dean just held his sandwich awkwardly. It was Balthazar, who seemed to be used to this, that magically found a way for Castiel to feel good, and for the three of them to stay feeling good and not hunched over a toilet.

"How wonderful Cassy. I have missed your spectacular culinary adventures. Thank you. I shall enjoy this sandwich in my room right now. Why don't you finish cleaning up in here? Or maybe you can bring one of these treasures to Gabriel? I bet he has missed these as well."

Castiel's face almost split apart with the smile he gave. Of course he should make one for his eldest brother! He always smiled and sometimes laughed whenever Castiel brought him food in the past! Castiel immediately returned to the counter where he started to make the next sandwich. He didn't even notice when Sam, Dean, and Balthazar left quickly taking their "meals" to the nearest garbage disposal unit. Bobby and Anna shook their heads and laughed silently as they both stayed behind to make sure Castiel was okay handling the knife.

Castiel paid no mind as he only had one question on his mind then. Those were the last plates. What was he going to bring the sandwich to Gabriel on?

 

 

A few hours later Dean and Sam moved to the bridge where they found Gabriel. He looked sourly at them as they came in.

"Cassy-poo said you guys told him to make me one of his protein brick and mold sandwiches. How thoughtful. What was even more thoughtful was him bringing it to me in one of his old flower pots." Sam and Dean both started to laugh at this. Cas really was something special. No wonder his brothers were so fond of him.

Sam finally was able to speak after a nice fit of laughter, "Hey, it was all Balthazar man. And it really made Castiel's day to make those things. He felt bad about the dishes or something."

"Well, I'm going to start to feel bad about the dishes if we all end up eating out of dirty flower pots," grumbled Gabriel. But the soft smile he had on his face was enough to let the brothers know that he wasn't actually annoyed, but actually happy.

Dean was able to bring his own laugh down to a chuckle at this point, "Okay, so back to business. How close are we to Hancock?"

"About 20 minutes. Should I land a distance away?"

"Yeah. I don't want to draw too much attention. Grand entrances are fun and all, but I don't want to mess around with this job." At the reminder of the job, the jovial air dissipated. At this point everyone had heard about Dick.

"You know this Dick guy is insane, right?" Sam pointed out to Dean.

"Well, he isn't the first psycho to hire us. We are dealing with criminals here. Can't expect them to hand out lollipops for a job well done and send a note home to our parents for a job not so well done."

Sam scoffed, "Sorry, I just have this image of a dead guy hanging from a ceiling."

"And I've got an image of it not being one of us." With that Dean headed out to get everything ready. They would not fuck this up.

Sam and Dean are both on the train an hour later trying to break through the bustling passengers to find their seats. Finally they find the right car number. Upon entering the car they see something that drops both of their stomachs down to the ground.

The entire car is full of Garrison soldiers armed to the gills. Both brothers quickly slap on awkward smiles.

"Hi," Dean squeaks out.

 


	4. Chapter 4

Notes: Yay! Next Chapter! Woooooo! Not much to say about this chapter, but hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I own nothing here!

CHAPTER 4

Anna and Bobby find themselves in the kitchen washing what was left of their dishes and also what was left of Castiel's attempt at cooking. The Sheppard seemed to be troubled, or worried, Anna thought. After the third time he stopped cleaning to stare at the clock she spoke up.

"Something troubling you, Sheppard?"

"How do you think it's going?" He asked seriously.

She laughs softly, "The caper?" and then more seriously, "Dean and Sam know what they're doing."

Bobby snorts, "I know that, I've only known them a little over a week and I ain't seen anyone like those two boys. But you can't prepare for everything. How long have you known them?"

"I've been on this ship for 8 months now and I can say that I don't think I'll ever know the captain. Sam is pretty open, but even so, they have a little trouble letting others in. Sam at least is open to trusting some people."

Bobby gave her a pointed look, "I've noticed. But even though they seem like reliable boys, I'm still a little….not worried….but I wish I could help. Well, not with crime, but help with….*sigh* I just feel awful useless just sitting here like an invalid."

Anna looks thoughtful at this, "You could pray for them? And you are helping with the dishes," she adds with a smile.

Bobby barks out a laugh, "Don't think the captain will like that. The praying, I mean."

"Then don't tell him," she said quietly. She had been praying a lot herself lately. Mostly for all of the damaged souls aboard the ship. There were so many. The Garrison was very good at destroying good souls.

 

The brothers stand there for almost a minute until they are jostled by a traveling family dressed in rags and probably carrying everything they had in the world in a few bags. The brothers decide to follow them out of the car, and quickly. This was way too awkward. They were in the middle of a squad of the enemy. And nobody even seemed to notice the boys stop and stare in panic.

As they pass by some of the feds look up, but none of them make a move or seem too interested. That at least calms Dean enough that he feels that maybe, just maybe, they can still do this.

Stepping into the next car the brothers both let out their held breaths. Sam puts on bitch face #14. The "What have you gotten us into this time", face. Dean immediately takes offense at that.

"Shut up Sam. We'll deal."

"Don't you think it's a little suspicious that there happens to be a whole squad of feds out there? I mean, what are we stealing here? I'm betting they are guarding whatever it is we are taking." Sam had always been the one to question the reason behind everything. Dean used to encourage it, but right now it was safer for everyone to just keep their thoughts to themselves.

"Doesn't concern us Sammy." Dean started to walk towards the next car, passing by many tattered looking families.

"Well, it kind of concerns me! Don't you think this changes the game a bit?" Sam would not let this go so easily.

"I surely do! Makes it more challenging. And you know how much I love a challenging hunt." He spared a glance back at Sam with a shit eating grin that Dean knew would piss him off. "Just think of the bar stories, dude! We pull this off and we will be legends! We stick to the plan, get the goods, get back to the Impala before this train even reaches Paradisio, all under the noses of twenty trained Garrison feds?! Think of how stupid they'll look! Hell, I would pull this job for free."

"If that's the case, can I have your share?"

"No."

"If you die, can I have your share?" Sam corrected.

"Whatever, it was going towards new dishes anyway." Sam chuckled while shaking his head.

"Are you sure you can handle it, what with your brain missing and all?", he asked jokingly.

Dean looked back at his brother, eyes betraying the affection, "Bitch"

"Jerk"

And with that exchange complete, they moved forward to finish this job as originally planned. Not like they had much of a choice anyhow.

 

Gabriel sits in his pilots chair with a pacing Meg behind him. Sometimes she reminded Gabriel of some large feral cat monster sewn into the small body of a human. He could never completely relax with her in the same room.

"…So I'll be hovering over the hatch. It's going to be tough keeping her steady, so you better strap in tight."

"Yeah, if you end up killing me, I'm coming back as a ghost and punching your liver out."She practically growled.

"Oh darn, there goes plan A," Gabriel said sarcastically if not with a little feeling behind it. He would just keep plan A as a fantasy for later daydreaming sessions.

"I'm not kidding around Shorty. You get me killed and there will be hell to pay."

He gave her a twisted smile. "First, I'm taller than you. Second, I fly this bird like a master. And third, feel free to try and hurt me sister." It looked like a fire was lit in his golden eyes that flickered warningly.

She looked hard at him for a moment, as if gauging the truth and force behind each statement. She must have found some sort of answer, because she finally left the bridge without saying a word.

Gabriel could finally relax his shoulders. Girl gave him the willies.

 

Balthazar saunters into the hold with Bobby to see Chuck fiddling with a control box. Beside him was what looked like a harness attached to the silver box that they had gotten from Dick. Balthazar makes himself right at home on one of the nearby crates to watch the show. Bobby, however, tentatively approaches Chuck.

"So…what is all this?"

Chuck looks up startled, "Oh, ummm….crime, I guess."

"Crime? Oh. Good. Okay."Bobby nodded absently while rubbing the back of his head.

"It's a train heist, Preacher. Pull up a crate. It promises to be a spectacular performance," Balthazar bursts out with gusto and slaps the crate next to him as invitation.

The Sheppard huffs, "Train heist, huh. Sounds exciting. How's it gonna work?" Balthazar waves off the explanation to Chuck who picks it up nervously.

"It's …it's pretty simple actually. We fly over the train car, um, that's Gabriels part. Then the captain and Sam sneak in. Then we lower Meg and that box…with those harnesses there. We make the exchange, and haul everyone back up with the other box. Easy as pie…at least, that's what Dean said anyway." He smiled, or his lips twitched, Bobby wasn't sure.

"So you've all done this before?"

"N…no. But I'm sure it will be fine! Dean is pretty good at these kinds of plans. And Sam is backing him up. Those two can do the impossible together." To Bobby it sounded like Chuck had some hero complex going on. It made sense since the preacher was pretty sure that Chuck's book he was working on was about a certain captain and his crew.

"Is there anything I can do? I feel a might useless," Bobby shrugged helplessly at the mechanic. Meg chose that moment to push through the two men roughly and head over to the harness.

"Just stay the hell out of my way," she said testily. The three men exchanged exasperated looks.

"No need to be so snippy, darling," Balthazar said from his crate.

She turned to him, "Are you about to be dangled out of a spaceship and dropped onto a moving train? No? Then shut your mouth. When the captain and his baby brother are not around, I'm in charge. You best remember that."

Balthazar got up from his seat at that, "Since when?"

"Since Dean lost his mind and allowed three fugitives to camp out on his ship. Someone has to slap this ship into shape. So I'm in charge. So why don't' you go find that scramble brained little brother of yours and make sure he doesn't break anything else, or get in my way. Dongma?"

Balthazar simply glares at her before walking away. He didn't have to put up with this.

From above on the catwalk, Castiel watched the whole exchange. It would be impossible to tell if he understood what he just heard from the expression on his face. He was simply staring down at the silver box with such intensity; he might have burned a hole in its lid. He didn't like that box.

Chuck started to strap Meg into the ropes. He was feeling somewhat bold today. Especially with the Sheppard standing nearby.

"You shouldn't be so rude to him."

"Why? Because he's bumping shoulders with the captain?"

Bobby laughed from behind them, "No. Because he has a big brother who is in charge of your life on a string today. And a little brother who can melt your brain out your ears by singing."

"Whatever. We could all be swimming in cash if we hand them in," she said under her breath.

Bobby and Chuck stopped moving and glared at her, "I wouldn't say such things, or even think them around us or anyone else on this ship." But Meg wouldn't back down.

"Dean isn't stupid. He wouldn't have just let those Garrison magnets near his precious little brother without a reason. Dean has a plan for them, he's just biding his time to cash in. Maybe it's a get out a jail free card." She smirked as she said this. Bobby wanted to do something violent.

"That boy is a victim, not an insurance policy. You would do well to remember that." The Sheppard walks away with a look of disgust, leaving Chuck and Meg to their work.


	5. Chapter 5

Notes: And the heist begins! BWAH! Enjoy my dears! Hearts!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything here! Itz only for grins and giggles!

CHAPTER 5

The brothers finally reached the car that Dick had indicated. It was a nondescript door, nothing special, except a big ol' lock on it. Dean barely took notice of the very bright yellow sign that indicated "No Passengers Beyond This Point". He was focused on the lock in front of him. Pulling out the card that had been supplied by their employer, he swiped it through the slot and prayed that no alarm would sound.

After a few beats, the door clicked open and Sam and Dean slipped in. This was it. It barely took a minute to locate the metal box that was identical to the one they had in the Impala's hold and with that, they went to work.

With a nod from Dean, Sam pulled out his comm. and sent up the signal to the ship.

Back in the first car of the train, a fed stands up to stretch and starts walking towards the back of the train car, closer to where the brothers are now working their heist.

Meanwhile, Dean is using a power drill to remove the screws holding a roof panel in place. He moves quickly and with steady hands removing the screws and pocketing them for later. Right above the panel on the outside of the train, the Impala hovers, keeping perfect pace with the car.

Once the panel is completely removed Sam sends out the second signal that reaches Chuck and Meg back on the Impala where they sprint to work by opening the floor panel on the ship and Meg moved into place on the rigging with the box. Meg gave a quick nod to the Chuck that she was ready to go and the young mechanic grabbed the control box and started moving the levers to move the box and Meg over the floor opening and they finally started to descend towards the train.

 

Back on the bridge, Gabriel's effort to keep the ship steady is showing on his sweating brow and white knuckled grip on the flight controls. His focus is only on keeping the Impala perfectly in sync with the train's movements.

Chuck tries to slowly drop the rigging but is having trouble keeping control with the high winds buffeting the ship and the goods around. As Meg and the cargo were lowered, Chuck knew that this wouldn't be as easy as he had originally thought. The idea was sound, but the actual play of it was a bit on the rickety side.

Sam and Gabriel had warned them that the planet was known for large and sudden gusts of wind and dust but it did nothing to prepare Chuck as suddenly a large gust sweeps through the air and his efforts are no longer enough as one of the ropes snaps and Meg and cargo get flung into the train with a crash. It was only 15 feet, but it made a very loud bang that made Sam and Dean flinch horribly from below. Chuck started thinking if it was easier to kill himself now, or to let Meg do it later.

 

Back on the train, the box had come off the riggings completely and the lid became dislodged.

"That wasn't good," thought Dean. All he could think about was Sam and him strung up like puppets, but he banished the thought. He would get this done. They always got the job done.

Back in the other car, the fed turns at the noise from his walk around the cabin and starts moving towards the cargo car.

"I'm going to wring his scrawny neck!"

"Calm down Meg. You're not hurt and we still have a job to do. Someone might have heard that, so let's move fast." Dean was starting to get a bad feeling, and he had learned a long time ago to trust his instincts and react quickly. Right now he was being told to hurry the hell up by said instincts. Sam and Meg comply and hop right into action, probably feeling the nerves.

They first secure the box from the train and mess around with the left over ropes to try and assure a safe trip back up into the Impala. Meg re-ties herself to the new rigging and waits for the brothers to join her. But they still have to deal with the delivery, and not just the retrieval.

Sam and Dean move to right the fallen box from Dick to right it, but when they lift it, a small vile full of a clear liquid falls out and rolls across the floor to the door they entered from. Sam looks like he is about to go get it when Dean stops him with a command, "Leave it Sam. We need to go. Now." Dean is surprised when Sam complies with no argument, but Dean wouldn't ponder on it, he would just be thankful.

But at that exact moment the door of the car opens and a fed moves in and spot the intruders. He immediately steps forward…and crushes the vile under his foot. The broken glass from the vile tears through his boots and cuts him and he falls to the ground in pain.

Dean is about to rip out his gun to point at the fallen fed when he hears a strangled gasp come from the soldier. Dean paused in his action to look up to inspect the noise. He had started foaming at the mouth and his eyes were rolling back in his head. He limbs started to jerk around randomly and then what looked like liquefied insides started to come out of his mouth to mix with the foam and turn it pink and dribble down the front of his Garrison uniform.

Dean heard Sam retching near him. The sight was truly gruesome and Dean had to look away with a rolling stomach. But then he heard a commotion coming from the other car and knows that other feds have come to investigate the noise. All nausea fled and panic almost started to set in.

Dean thanks his lucky stars that Sam is always prepared for things like this as Sam, now over most of his nausea, pulls out a smoke bomb and flings it at the door where the feds have just started to pour in, covering the Impala crew from sight.

"Let's go boys!" Meg was sounding really pissed and panicked, a for sure sign that things were going to crap.

There wasn't time to get them on the rigging, so Dean shouts, "Go! Go now!" And Meg signals Chuck to pull her up with the box from the train, leaving Sam and Dean behind as she lifts up in the air as the Impala starts to move away from the scene.

But the two brothers are already on the move through the smoke and into the car at the back of the cargo cabin having narrowly avoided being seen by the still blinded Garrison thugs. In the next car Sam sends out two more smoke bombs among the passengers. Now they are both disguised as one of the other coughing and confused travelers, safe for now. Dean wasn't able to relax, but at least he could start breathing again.

 

Back on the Impala, Meg and the box are being pulled back into the hold. Once back on the ships floor, she rips off the harnesses and gets off the box. Meg is thinking a mile a minute. Everything has changed. The brothers are doomed, and they might have a botched a job from Dick. Damn.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Chuck run forward. Chuck should have known not to bother her at this moment, but he seemed upset as well. Returning without the precious Captain and his brother might be the reason.

"What happened? Where are they?" For once he didn't stutter in her presence. He must really be worried, she thought, but didn't really care.

"Fuck off Chuck." She had a few announcements to make and she was not going to explain this more than once. She started walking up to the bridge, Chuck racing after her.

 

Sam was fidgeting. Again. And it was annoying the hell out of Dean. They couldn't look guilty in any way.

"Dude! Would you chill? We have to blend." They were among a large crowd of travelers being herded into the train station at Paradisio. The feds and local law were not letting anyone go before they finished their investigation. A lot of people were mad, mostly because no one knew what was being investigated. Dean was mad because he wanted out. Yesterday.

"Sorry man. I just can't get what happened to that soldier out of my head. I mean, what happened to him anyway? What was that stuff?"

"Not our job to know what. Just where and when. Leave it be Sam." Wasn't Sam the one who was worried about being strung up earlier? Dean sighed in annoyance.

As they were ushered into a large and very full room, he saw that the place had a very large amount of locals gathered there. Looking around Dean was starting to notice a trend among those people. They were all sick. Coughing and pale. Dean made a mental note to make sure Sam didn't start hugging the sick kids. He also made a note to bathe in rubbing alcohol tonight. He wondered if Castiel could heal illness…

"Our men didn't get a clear look." The fed near Dean was talking to what looked like the sheriff of this place. He nudged Sam and they both listened in.

The sheriff sighed, "And I think I can guess what they took. Damn. Help us keep these people together." The fed nodded and signaled for two of his men to round up the wandering travelers. Another fed walked up to his superior and the sheriff looking very hesitant. He kind of reminded Dean of Chuck when he was about to tell Dean that something was wrong with the ship.

"Uh, sir. Nothing is gone. The box of medicine is still there! The lid was open and it looked like one vile fell out, but everything else seems okay. As far as we can tell, nothing was taken. We must have gotten there in time." He smiled awkwardly.

"Well, that's the best news I've heard in a long while. Let's get that stuff out here." The nervous fed went off to get the medicine. The sheriff turned back to the superior Garrison soldier.

"We can't hand it out until the investigation is complete. We need to know what happened to your man. Heard he was foaming at the mouth."

"That's right. We are thinking that the suspects poisoned him somehow. Hopefully none of the poison got near the medicine."

Dean closed his eyes as Sam opened his mouth in horror. The poison that had killed the fed hadn't been near the "medicine" it was the gorramn "medicine". The real drugs for these sick people were now up in the Impala. All of these sick people gathered were here, lined up to be poisoned. And they didn't even know it.

Well, that answered Sam's questions, and Dean had never hated himself this much before. He sat down and ran his hands through his hair. He glanced up at his brother with a helpless look.

"Son of a bitch."


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don't own anything here! If I did then Firefly would still be happening, and it would totally have a crossover episode with Supernatural!

CHAPTER 6

Castiel's ears hurt. They hurt just as bad as the time that Gabriel had tried to learn the recorder when they were younger. Castiel wished that he and Balthazar could bury Meg in the back yard like they did with the horrible instrument. She had been arguing with the remaining crew for the better part of an hour. For some reason she believed Dean and Sam were not coming back and that the crew should listen to her now. Castiel laughed to himself, as if Dean would leave his beloved ship to her.

"Just get your ass back up to the bridge and start flying us to the rendezvous point!" Meg shouted at Gabriel who was pacing back and forth where the remaining crew had gathered in the hold.

"We are at the rendezvous point. For meeting up with Sam and Dean," he retorted angrily.

Meg moved right up into his face and practically growled back, "Are you challenged? Did the Garrison scramble your brains too? Dick's people are waiting for us and I don't think they will like to be kept waiting." The sound of her voice was particularly grating on Castiel's ears. He leaned into Balthazar's shoulder who had been standing next to him. It was warm there. Off to the side of him he heard Chuck squeak and Anna suck in a deep breath. They seemed quite anxious.

And Bobby's face had been getting redder and redder as Meg went on, it made Castiel wonder if he was still breathing properly. He had heard that it was healthy for people to breathe normally.

"Let them read a gorramn magazine then! We ain't leaving those boys there to fend for themselves! They'll get their package when we get our people." Bobby didn't look like he would ever cave to Meg's demands. From his perch on his brother's shoulder Castiel smiled at the preacher's strength.

"They are stone cold killers Sheppard! Not all cute and cuddly like me!" She said back smiling condescendingly. Balthazar started whispering in his little brother's ears about all the different ways he could remove the smirk from her face. Castiel couldn't help but giggle at the image of his brother's suggestion of itching powder. It seemed to have caught her attention as she whirled on the two of them.

"Shut up or I'll smash your plant!" As if she could get near that plant, thought Castel darkly, but he didn't make another noise.

"Leave him alone Meg. You touch his plant and you'll wake up with only two limbs, and I won't tell you which ones. And we are not leaving without Sam and the Captain." Gabriel was turning the same shade of red as Bobby, Castiel checked Balthazar quickly to see if it was spreading. Looks like the color's spread hadn't reached him yet. It had seemed to have reached Chuck as he looked like an awkward cherry, but Castiel was pretty sure he wasn't breathing at all. He and Gabriel didn't need to worry so much, though.

"Sam will be perfectly safe Gabriel. Dean is with him." Why did everyone stop and stare at him whenever he spoke? Meg seemed to be pleased though.

"See? Even Crazy Cakes over there agrees with me. Now let's go!"

Bobby wasn't impressed, "Gabriel. Are we going to have to worry about the Garrison coming to find their stolen goods?"

Gabriel looked unsure, glancing between his brothers and Bobby. This is where they lacked information. "Because Prissy Pants over here left them behind before gathering more information, we don't know if the feds noticed that we took the original box to begin with. They could just be slapping Sam and Dean on the wrists for being in the cargo cabin. But if we stick here in this canyon, then we will be able to see any ships coming our way." He let that sink in with everyone for a moment.

"But they'll never stop."

They all stared at Castiel again.

"They will keep coming until they get back what you took." He laughs softly to himself. He feels a little light-headed, his shoulders twitch painfully and he giggles louder.

"Three by three, they will find me." Everyone was quiet and looking around, and Castiel felt Balthazar's arm wrap around his shoulders and pull tight. He and Gabriel looked haunted.

Meg's voice cut through with all the grace of a rhino ballerina. "Hey, how about you two keep your whack job's mouth shut?" To Castiel, "Does that sound like a fun game to you?" He just glared back at her with fire in his eyes. "Now listen close, all of you saps. You don't mess around with Dick."

Anna peered at Meg and smirked, "What's the matter, Meg? Are you scared of Dick?" She asked innocently.

"I'm scared of Dick," said Chuck softly. Meg ignored them both.

"Wait, are you talking about Dick Roman?" The feisty brunette gave the preacher a more searching gaze.

"How is it a respectable Preacher like you knows a name like Dick Roman?"

"Ain't ever said I was respectable. But I know enough of the man to guess that if Dean is not present when delivering the goods, questions will be asked. Maybe it's better if we arrive a little late." He raised his eyebrows knowingly. He had a point.

Anna, ever the diplomat, stepped forward between the steaming Meg and reddened Bobby.

"We wait for half an hour. If we don't hear from the brothers by then, we bring the box to the meeting point." Nobody argued further, even if Meg looked like she might have an aneurysm, and spread out to hopefully cool off a bit. Castiel went to go hide his plant somewhere safe.

 

Sam and Dean sit stiffly next to each other looking around at the sick families. There were mothers holding sick babies, young children supporting their younger siblings, fathers looking like they might collapse at any moment.

"This is a nightmare, Dean."

"They haven't pointed to us for anything yet."

"That's not what I'm talking about. I mean, look around." And Dean did, for the thousandth time. The depressing scene was a constant reminder of their crime. They had stolen the medicine, only to replace it with a poison. What kind of monsters would do something like that. What kind of monster had he become?

"Whatever happens Sammy, remember you're my brother and I'll always love you."

"What?" Sam was truly shocked at his brother's sudden confession.

"Because you're my brother and the sheriff is coming our way."

"Oh, yeah, right….Bro."

And the sheriff was starting to walk towards them. His face was drawn with harsh lines and looked as if he hadn't slept in weeks. He probably hadn't. Dean's guilt went up a few more notches.

"Hello boys, Car 3, row 13, seats A and B." He was looking at each brother with searching eyes, eyes roaming over them looking for possible threats. Dean recognized the look, he did it often enough himself with every new person he ever met.

"Hi, I'm Tom and this is my brother Jerry. Can you tell us what's going on? We've been here so long, did…did someone on the train get killed?" Dean lowered his voice near the end, like he was really concerned there might be a murderer among them. It had the desired effect, and the Sheriff laughed and shook his head.

"There is nothing for you to worry about sirs. Everything is being handled. Now I see that your tickets were bought by a third party?" His eyes darted between Dean and Sam, ready to search for any inconsistency. Dean had to respect this guy's thoroughness and ability to dodge the question. The brothers would have to be careful with this guy.

"Yes, our uncle. It was a gift."

The sheriff looked confused and even a little amused at this. "A gift? You came for a vacation in Paradisio?" He half snorted, Dean almost took offense, but Sam cut in.

"Actually, we are here looking for work."

This time the sheriff snorted loudly, "Really?"

Sam started to feed him the rest of the back-story that Dick had provided with the tickets. "Our uncle said he knew a Joey Biggs out here. He said that he might have some work for us. Thought we would try our luck."

"Either of you miners by trade?" Both brothers shook their heads in the negative. "Never met anyone who would choose this job if they weren't born to it." This guy was good, thought Dean. He was really searching, and if they weren't careful, he might find something.

"Um, well, um Tom and I have been out of work for too long. We have been getting pretty desperate. Um, can you tell us why there are so many sick people here?" Sam was being smart and changing topics, but Dean really didn't want to hear this.

The sheriff let out a heavy breath and leaned back. His weariness was rolling off him in waves. "Bourne Bowden's Malady. You two boys know what that is?"

Sam, ever the scholar, answered quickly. "It's an affliction of the bone and muscle. Degenerative."

"Yup, very much so. See every planet that has been terraformed by the Garrison has its own little quirks. As it turns out, the air down underground, mixed with the ore from the mines…perfect recipe for Bowden's. Everyone gets it. It's worst on the kids though. Little systems can't handle it."

"But it is treatable," Sam insisted.

"There is a medicine that works on the symptoms, but you have to take it regularly. The last batch ran a bit late because it took the Garrison a little longer than usual to deliver." He sounded a little more than just bitter at this. "We were worried that the medicine was stolen off the train today during the incident with the smoke bombs, but everything seems to be in order. But we want to be sure that everything is sorted before we dish out the meds. Can't risk hurting the kids."

Dean feigned shock, "Didn't we see a whole squad of fine Garrison soldiers on the train? Surely they were keeping an eye on the medicine."

"Apparently they didn't see much." Dean could work with this. Maybe it wasn't too late to cast some doubt in this guys head.

"Is it possible that the medicine was tampered with? That would be horrible if people became even more sick!" Sam seemed to be catching on to what Dean was doing.

"I'm sure that once the Garrison hears about the incident they will send the next batch of meds right away. Better to wait than risk the kids health even more," Sam followed up to Dean's comments. Dean warmed at the thought of how Sam could follow his train of thought without any effort.

Their interrogator seemed a little taken back by the worry from the boys. "Yes, I'm sure that the very Garrison that let criminals get by them and into the cargo cabin and near said medicine will rush right on back to the core planets to get us a new shipment right away." He sounded less than confident in this statement.

"Yeah, that sounds like the Garrison. Unite the planets under one rule so that everyone can be interfered with or ignored equally," Dean almost growled out.

"Garrison might not be much use to us border boys, but they weren't the ones who caused this…incident in the first place. If we find the people who messed up this delivery I'll throw them I the mines and let them breath deep for the rest of their lives."

Sam swallowed hard, "Can't argue with that."

"So do boys mind telling me when it was your uncle last spoke to Joey Biggs?"

Sam and Dean looked at each other startled. They sensed a trap.

"Ah, he didn't say for sure."

"So your uncle never mentioned the Bowden's problem or the fact that Biggs blew out the back of his own head about eight months ago?" Sam and Dean quickly put on surprised/sympathetic faces. Dean leaned forward towards the sheriff with a very straight face. He needed to play this part right. He was a desperate man.

"So…would Bigg's job be open?"

He was offered a wan smile from the sheriff at this. This interview was over. Sam and Dean could relax, but the guilt was eating away like acid in their stomachs. They didn't even need to say it out loud to each other. They had to fix this.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: Nope. Not mine. No no no no. D'X

CHAPTER 7

"That's it. We've waited long enough, Gabriel, get this bird in the air. Now! I'm not kidding around this time." Meg stormed into the bridge where everyone had gathered. She was no longer sitting around twiddling her thumbs while some psycho plotted ways to kill them. Gabriel and Balthazar immediately went on defense when they heard her command.

"No freakin' way, Meg. We are waiting. We haven't even heard a peep from the Garrison," Gabriel insisted. Castiel was behind them with Bobby, Anna and Chuck. Castiel looked rather annoyed and slowly started moving toward Meg without drawing too much attention from the angry people in the room.

"We ain't leaving those boys there on their own," Bobby said as he put his foot down. Castiel was only a few feet from Meg now. "I think you should sit down." He had said quietly, but he was ignored by everyone who was too busy posturing for power.

"They are not coming back. They must have been caught, otherwise they would be here, Sam would be asking people about their feelings and Dean would be the one barking orders." She shoved Gabriel towards the controls. "Now get us in the air." His face turned dark and the room's lights seemed to have dimmed a bit.

"I really must insist you sit down." Castiel looked serious and pleading.

"Cassy, get over here. Now is not the time." Balthazar tried to rein in his wayward brother before Meg decided to lash out at him, but Castiel only gave him an exasperated look and stayed where he was, near Meg.

"Meg, you need to stop and think. We need Dean to make the exchange. They will know that something is up if we arrive without the captain or the first mate." Anna actually sounded like she might be angry, but she wasn't frowning at all. She had to be cautious of wrinkles.

"Dean would do the same thing if it was one of us and hope for the best. Some of us are actually good at lying." She gave a condescending look to the companion.

"I'm not," mumbled Castiel. He was ignored again.

Chuck spoke up, "Dean would never leave someone behind. Not in a million years." But it seemed like Chuck was ignored just like Castiel.

"Get. Us. In. The. Air. I won't ask again." She looked like she was telling the truth, but no one had any doubt she could lie.

"Listen Meg…" Gabriel was cut off.

"No. You listen. Do you know what the chain of command is? It's the chain I beat you with until you listen to who is in charge here." This time she finally pulls out here knife, not messing around with this crew anymore. But few were actually scared.

"We are finishing this deal. And then after maybe, MAYBE, we'll go back for the morons who got caught. And you can't change a damn…" Castiel had finally moved up next to her and had subtly raised two fingers high near her head. Perhaps it was a good thing people tended to ignore his actions, because their distraction allowed him to press his two fingers to Meg's forehead and not a second later she stopped talking and fell to the ground unconscious, and with a very loud sounding thump. Everyone finally took notice of Castiel standing there. He gave them all an apologetic look.

"I was trying to get her to sit down. Now her face will be all broken. My apologies, but I don't feel comfortable with her in command." The remaining crew all broke out in relieved smiles and laughter. Gabriel had gone up to his little brother and ruffled his hair affectionately. Balthazar gave him a sloppy kiss on the cheek, and Bobby and Chuck clapped him on the shoulder. Anna gave a much less sloppy kiss to his cheek and he blushed horribly. Meg might have been kicked and stepped on accidentally a few times when people had moved up to Castiel.

But soon the celebration was over and the crew of the Impala was faced yet again with the fact that their captain was missing along with their first mate, at they still had a delivery to make to a mad man. They needed a plan.

"So…so what do we do now? How do we get them back?" Chuck nervously started to wring his hands now that they had decided they were in charge of saving the brothers. It was a lot of pressure for the little guy who usually just hid in his engine room.

Balthazar puffed out a breath, "Meg was right that they haven't made contact. They probably got pinched back on the train."

"And we can't just waltz in a pull them out, either," Anna said discouraged. But Bobby near her looked thoughtful at this.

"This is just food for thought, but someone respectable enough might be able to pull them out." He looked at everyone with his eyebrows raised.

Gabriel looked skeptical, "A Sheppard isn't enough to pull out possible criminals."

"I know that ya idjit! I wasn't talking about a Sheppard." It sounded like Bobby had a plan and didn't feel so useless anymore.

 

The train station is still a buzz of activity with the sheriff still running around checking stories and traveling families starting to get antsy and sick families starting to get frustrated. Sam was also starting to get frustrated, he and Dean were going to fix this, but they had to get out of here first.

"You think the Impala is still waiting for us?"

"If she is, then they all get a cookie."

"And if they aren't?" Sam asked.

"No cookies. And for these people, no meds." Dean looked around the room and prayed that his crew was still waiting for their return.

"So how are we going to play this Dean?"

Dean didn't have to answer, because at that point there was commotion over by where the sheriff was. The brother's watch curiously, waiting to see what was the cause, but they didn't have to wait long to get an answer as Anna suddenly appeared and started storming towards the two.

"What the he—"

Slap

The left side of his face was stinging like a bitch. She had just slapped him, Dean couldn't even get angry or defensive because he was simply too stunned to do anything but gape at her.

"Don't you dare speak to me Dean. Sheriff, I want this man bound by law at once, assuming he hasn't been already." Behind her, an equally stunned Sheriff was going over the papers that she had handed him a moment ago. He seemed to be convinced by whatever was written on them.

"No one's been bound yet, ma'am."

Anna looked at him with relief, "Thank goodness you stopped them." She turned to Dean, "Did you really think that you could access my accounts and I wouldn't notice?" She then turned her attention to Sam and gave him a disappointed look, "And Sam, what would your husband say if he knew you were here."

Sam's mouth opened and closed a few times before finally awkwardly answering, "I was…weak." He looked down as if to appear like a shamed puppy.

The sheriff looked like he was close to laughter, "So am I to take it that these two are not brothers?"

"Oh, they are brothers all right. But they are unhealthily attached to one another. Dean here is my indentured servant with another 4 years on his debt. I'm thinking another 6 months more for this little adventure."

Around her the families were starting to whisper and point at Anna who was dressed up enough to appear like a queen among the dusty people of Paradisio. She actually looked a little uncomfortable.

"You'll have to pardon the locals ma'am, I don't think any of them have seen a registered companion before. Fancy lady like yourself doesn't pass through here very often," The sheriff informed her.

"Then my apologies for my manner."

"Not at all ma'am" He tipped his hat at her politely.

"Should I call my ship now, or will you need to hold them here longer?"

"Naw, we should be done here. We had some trouble on the train, but it seems like these two weren't involved." As he said this, he still gave both brothers one more searching look as if he still wasn't totally convinced.

Anna seemed satisfied and gestured for Sam and Dean to follow her, "Then I thank you for your help, and I apologize for the trouble they have caused." She walked off with a magnificent air of grace and all of the locals parted to give her a wide berth of respect and awe. Sam and Dean exchanged looks and then followed after her like kicked puppies. Dean's humiliation wasn't enough for him forget what needed to be done, and so he sped up his pace to catch up with Anna.

 

The three crew members rushed back into the hold of the Impala. They didn't think there was much time to waste. The others greeted them there. Gabriel walked right up to Sam checking him over for injuries. Balthazar, Bobby and Castiel went right up to Dean.

Castiel gave Dean a once over as well, he noticed the red mark on the side of Dean's face and reached out to it before Dean gently grabbed his hand and lowered it down again while silently telling Cas he was fine.

Chuck couldn't contain himself, "Well? How'd it go? Is everything okay back there?"

Dean didn't answer right away and quickly looked around the hold. "Where is Meg?"

Gabriel smirked from over where he was with Sam, "She's kissing the floor of the bridge. She should be up and about in an hour or so."

Dean didn't even want to ask about that, "So where is the box?"

"Hidden in the walls, we weren't sure if the Garrison was going to want to check us out at any point," Balthazar reported.

"Get it out," Dean said tersely. Chuck and Balthazar moved to comply and opened up the cargo slot holding the hidden box.

Bobby looked to Dean, "We bringing it to Dick now?"

"No. We're bringing it back." Everyone stopped moving and looked at Dean like he had said that unicorns fart rainbows.

"Are you bloody insane? Was I the only one paying attention during that happy meeting with Dick? He's going to string us up if we don't bring him his package and we are already running late!" Balthazar was horribly confused, what possible reason could they have to purposely anger a monster?

Sam moved to help his brother get the box out of the hidden cargo slot, "There are others who need it more," he said.

Bobby and Gabriel were just as confused as the others.

"Son, what are you going to do about Dick? Isn't this going to put him in more or less of a killing mood?" Bobby looked concerned as the box was loaded onto the dolly.

Dean grunted while trying to get the box in place and answered, "We tell him the job went south and give him the money back and hope he doesn't use our entrails as next Christmas' garlands."

Sam gave Dean a level look, "Dean, what do we do about the other box?"

"We get that back. And we destroy it."

All others, except Castiel, looked as confused as virgin boys trying to undo a bra.

"Ah, Dean-o? You wanna share with the rest of the class?" Gabriel needed to know for sure that his captain's brain hadn't been damaged while he was missing. But Castiel interrupted the confused crew.

"Dean. We have visitors. Should I get them complementary beverages?" He looked up at his captain from where he was looking before at the ramp of the Impala, where eight burly looking men from Dick's escort were standing. They all looked pissed. Sam moved over to Gabriel and Balthazar slowly.

Dean looked up at the ceiling for a moment and cursed quietly before answering, "No Cas, why don't you go back to your room for a bit." He replied softy, and without seeing if Castiel had listened to him, he walked towards the top of the ramp to face the men.


	8. Chapter 8

Notes: My first try at a fight scene! It was harder than I thought keeping track of all of the characters and their movements. I deterred a bit from the Firefly fight in this, but I think it still works.

Disclaimer: I own nothing here. I own nothing at all really, I'm a poor starving college student after all XD

CHAPTER 8

As the Neanderthals made their way closer to the ramp Dean was once again surprised at their speaking capabilities as the biggest one in front growled at him, "You weren't at the meeting point." He said accusingly.

"Well, we ran into a few complications." Dean wasn't going to make this a joke and looked at the visitor straight in the eye. Somewhere behind him, Dean heard his crew shuffling around.

"You thinking of taking Dick's money and property for yourselves?" He asked, waving his gun carelessly at Dean.

"Actually, no."

The brows of the overgrown monkeys drew together in confusion, "I don't understand."

Dean responded quickly, "Yeah, um, look. Deals off." More confused faces met Dean's statement. He sighed mentally, the monkeys had been doing so well with the whole language thing….

Dean continued, "We changed our minds. Deals off. Dick can have his money back."

Now the monkeys started to laugh and it actually sounded like a pitying laugh. The biggest one spoke up again, "I don't think you understand how our boss works. You can't back out once the deal has been made." Dean heard even more shuffling behind him. The Impala's captain needed to keep their attention for a little while longer….

Bobby broke in from behind Dean by the pile of old metal, "You heard the captain. We ain't doing this job. So you just relax and we'll give you the money that Dick paid us and then some, you give it all back to him to call it even."

Dean was forever thankful that his crew trusted him in this and had decided to back him up even when they didn't have all the details. He even spared Bobby a grateful look over his shoulder. The preacher only nodded solemnly and gave a very subtle wink.

"There is no "even" with the boss. You don't follow through with a deal, then you're dead."

"Is that so?" Dean smirked. And suddenly from behind him there is gunfire as his crew rushed forward with fire arms or any other weapon that could be found in the cluttered hold.

Sam had gotten Gabriel and Balthazar guns while Dean had distracted the monkeys. Bobby had found a nice lead pipe in the metal pile. Chuck and Anna had ducked behind the nearest crate and were throwing any heavy object they could find at the offending men on the ramp, but they were fast running out of ammo. Castiel had moved up next to Dean grabbing a knife from Dean's belt and throwing it in the same second to hit the biggest man straight in the chest. He was the first fallen.

The other angry apes started forward with their own guns and knives out, but were met head on by a member of the crew. Bobby was defending with the lead pipe, Sam meeting up with one of the quick monkeys trying to slip further into the hold and holding him up with a pointed colt. Balthazar had pistol whipped the fat one that moved too slowly for the lithe man. Gabriel had shot the man that had come up behind Balthazar while he was busy with the fat man. Anna and Chuck had run out of throw-able objects and were wildly looking around for something else to use. Chuck's eyes fell on the dolly car.

The Impala crew was holding their own, but they were quickly tiring. Sweat was stinging their eyes. Muscles were screaming in protest to the over-use. Lungs were heaving to try and get in enough air. Dick didn't hire weak people, and it took all the crew had to hold back the wave of attack.

Dean was now kept busy with the last three of the apes as they moved closer to him and the now weaponless Castiel. Everyone was still too busy with their own dance partners to help them, and Dean didn't know if he could pick a fight with three men while also protecting Cas. For a moment, he truly didn't know what to do, so he just pushed Cas behind him and held his gun steady. He almost wanted to scream in frustration.

And then it hit him. He mentally slapped himself for not thinking of it sooner. He half turned and yelled loud enough for all of his crew to hear, "COVER YOUR EARS". They all complied immediately. Dean didn't waste any time covering his own ears and turning to the blue eyed man behind him and said to him, "Speak."

Cas immediately opened his mouth and let out a wail that sounded only partially muted to the crew of the Impala with their covered ears, but it did it's trick and the confused monkeys that were remaining fell to their knees in pain trying to block out the piercing noise.

Now was Dean's chance to move forward to end it before the shock that took down Dick's men wore off. But out of nowhere Chuck on the dolly car came forward and ran over the last three monkeys and sent them tumbling off the side of the ramp, about a 20 foot drop at this point.

The crew heard a very satisfying and loud thud come from their landing. Chuck slid off the dolly car with a self satisfied look on his face. He was met by many approving looks from the rest of the crew.

The fight was over, and the crew had all survived with nothing more than a few scrapes and bruises. Dean motioned for everyone to tie up the surviving apes and took a moment to calm his nerves. Everyone was safe, they were okay, they could still do this. He ran his hands through his cropped hair, dislodging some sweat that had built up and making his hair stick up in random places.

This day had been a long one, and it still wasn't even close to over. He glanced over to Cas who had stopped his screeching.

He was looking at Dean with a pissed look upon his usually soft face. "I am not some canine for you to command like that, Dean." He said sternly. Dean was taken back for a moment.

Dean actually felt a little bad about that now that he thought about it and was about to apologize when Balthazar and Gabriel came up behind their brother and started to pat him on the back or ruffle his hair.

"Aww, but you have such adorable puppy eyes, Cassy. No wonder Dean got confused," Balthazar said, his voice full of affection. Castiel actually rolled his eyes. It was times like these that Dean thought that maybe he was catching a glimpse of the old Castiel, and going by the content smiles on the Novak brothers' faces, Dean probably was right.

Nostalgia could wait however. They had a town to save. And Dean owed his crew an explanation.

 

They all stood circled around the silver box now pulled to the center of the hold. To the crew, Sam and Dean looked incredibly impatient and remorseful about something. They were staring at the box like it was a child's coffin and it was starting to make the others uncomfortable.

Gabriel was the first to try and break the tense atmosphere. "Hey Dean-o, so we are wondering why you have gathered all of us here today."

Nobody laughed, and Dean just braced himself for what he was about to share. The pause made everyone extremely nervous. They started to look at each other in panic wondering what could be so terrible. "Dean, what's in the box?" asked Anna.

"It's medicine."

Whatever horrible terrorizing ideas their minds had thought up, that was not one of them. A huff from Bobby drew everyone back from their surprise, "Okay, so we stole medicine. I'm guessing we just return it, right? No big deal. Why are you idjits acting like the world is ending?"

"Bobby, we made an exchange, remember. The locals have the box that we switched out. And we found out what was in it. It was some kind of poison or something. It killed one of the feds on the train. And the medicine that was supposed to be delivered was for a whole town of sick families. If any of them are given what was in that box, they will be dead in the next minute. What happens if they give it to some innocent kid first?"

Each person there felt the horror of what could happen if that poison was handed out.

"That's not going to happen. We're getting that monstrosity back and bringing the medicine back to those families." Dean's statement was enough for everyone else. They stood ready at attention for his next orders.

For a moment Dean could only think that he didn't deserve this loyalty since he was the one to make this deal to begin with, but now was not the time for hindsight. It was the time to set things right.

"Let's get these meds onto the dolly, Chuck. Gabriel, go see if Meg is awake yet. Sam, you're with me."

"How are we going to make the switch?" Sam asked.

"Dunno, I'm making this up as I go. Like usual. But they will get this back no matter what. Now let's go. I don't want them cracking a single vile open before we get there." Dean turned his back and everyone spread out to get ready for the exchange.

He felt a warm hand fall on his shoulder and he turned to look into deep calming blue eyes. Castiel was looking at him with such affection and wonder; Dean had to look down in shame. He didn't deserve it. But Cas didn't back down, he tilted his head closer to Dean and tried to look him in the eye again.

"You are a good man Dean Winchester, and you would do well to remember that." And with that Cas walked off after squeezing his shoulder one more time. The touch seemed to linger there, the warmth practically burned into the skin. Dean wasn't sure he could believe what Cas had said, but he would damn well try to make up for his mistakes.


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: Not mine, it's tragic. I know D'X

CHAPTER 9

Not an hour later Dean, Sam and Meg are all on the dolly car transporting the silver box. It has gotten pretty late here and the sun had set a long time ago, leaving the landscape covered in a dark shadow that was perfect for them to use to sneak into town and make the exchange. If they were lucky, they could do this without any problem. If they were lucky, they would not have handed out the poison back in town. If they were lucky, Dick wouldn't kill them. If they were lucky, no one else would have to die because of this heist.

Once the rooftops of the town came into view, Dean motioned for Sam to cut the engine. The silence that arose around them once the car was stopped was almost deafening to Dean. It was almost accusatory to him, perhaps even mocking in a way. Mocking what it would sound like of everyone in that town was dead because Dean had poisoned them all. He only hoped that he could make this right.

Dean rubbed his shoulder where he had been gripped by Cas. It still felt warm.

He and Sam pulled the box off the dolly car and started to trudge quietly towards the town while Meg followed behind to keep a lookout once they arrived. They started to ascend one of the cooling sand dunes, with their feet sinking into the sand deeply with the added weight shared between them, but they still pushed on.

Dean was mentally going over all of the possible ways that they could run this caper once in the town when they crested to dune. He was so lost in thought he almost didn't notice what stood before them until the light hit his eyes.

They were met with sudden blinding light coming from several transcar's headlights. The artificial light was a sharp slap to the face letting them know that they had been caught trying to creep into town, and once his eyes had adjusted enough to see the shadows of people beside the transcars, Dean was able to recognize the sheriff's strong shouldered form walk forward.

His heart sank for a few reasons at that moment. One, was because they had been caught and were probably not going to get out so easily this time. The other most painful reason was the realization that the sheriff wouldn't be here unless they knew something was up with Dean, and that they knew something was wrong with the medicine. Sam's self loathing look told Dean that he had come to the same conclusion as his brother. Someone else had been killed with the poison.

Meg looked to Dean questioningly while slowly moving to get her knife out, but the captain shook his head at her and moved forward to meet the sheriff. Dean stood straight and faced him waiting for judgment. The sheriff broke the thick silence, "We got word of a ship not far off. Thought we would check it out. Didn't expect to see you coming back though."

"Didn't really expect to be coming," responded Dean, completely serious.

The sheriff nodded absently as his attention was drawn to the silver box now on the ground between Dean and Sam.

"That our medicine?" He asked casually.

Sam nodded stiffly. One of the sheriffs men moved forward to the box and opened it, inspecting the contents. Dean was surprised to notice that there were no feds among the crowd.

"It's all here, sheriff," the man said. His boss nodded and gestured for another of his men to go help retrieve the meds. He turned to Dean then.

"You were truthful back in town. Tough times since the Garrison came though. Hard to find work. And when a man does find work, he might not look too close at what that job is." He paused and looked between the two brothers before falling back on Dean. "But when a man finds out the details of a situation like ours, well, then he has a choice."

"Don't really think he does," choked out Dean. This response actually brought a smile to the sheriff's face and he turns to his men, "Let's get this back to town. We have sick families to tend to." Most of the men left after that. Dean had even more respect for that man since his men were doing all this with no questions or accusations at the crew form the Impala. The man knew how to keep his men in line and they seemed to be reliable and loyal, he would have probably been a good hunter during the war.

Once people had cleared out, all that was left was the sheriff and one last transcar. He motioned to the trunk of it. "I'm thinking that whatever is in that box over there belongs to you? Wouldn't be right to be keeping your property," he said while smirking. Dean smiled wryly in return. Sam and Meg walked over to grab the box right away. It was best to make sure that it wasn't around innocents any longer than needed.

Dean thought that the sheriff was being a bit to forgiving, so he had to ask the question that was eating away at him.

"Did…did anyone use it?" He swallowed the bile that came up with that question.

The sheriff actually looked a bit flustered at this. "Well, no. We didn't touch it. The feds insisted that everything was fine and that we should give it out to all of the families as intended, but I just had a bad feeling about it. They were all too calm about them having a dead soldier near the medicine. So I told them I'd handle it and that they could leave. But once I heard about your ship out here….well, I had a hunch, so I had my men pack it up and come out here."

A magnificent weight was taken off of his shoulders and Dean closed his eyes in relief.

"Don't suppose you want to tell me what was really in those meds, or where you got them from."

Dean shook his head at the sheriff, "You really don't want to know what it was, and I'm thinking that it's safer you didn't know where it came from." Dean was starting to form a few theories and it looked like Sam was too by his scrunched up forehead. But the sheriff seemed satisfied for now and hopped up onto his transcar. With a nod of his head and a tip of his hat, he drove away. He had the medicine, and even if he didn't have his answers he was satisfied with the night's happenings.

Meg started up the engine to their dolly car with Sam and the box already on it, waiting for Dean to join them. Walking up slowly, he couldn't take his eyes off the box. Sam seemed to notice his hesitation.

"What are we going to do with it Dean?"

"We can give it back with the money and maybe he'll kill us quicker and with less torture," Meg suggested sarcastically. She was far from impressed with the turn of events during the day, and she was still fuming over being taken down by an "impotent sap".

Dean chose to ignore her and motioned for them to start driving off. There was no way that Dean was going allow this box to fall into the wrong hands…or anyone's hands for that matter.

 

There are two remaining monkeys left at the Impala that survived the confrontation. Both are pushed to their knees in front of a crossed armed Dean. The large engine of the Impala is powered up behind him, getting ready to take flight.

Dean pulls out a heavy wad of cash, "Now here is the money the Dick gave us for this job and a little bit more. You give it back to him and tell him the job didn't work out and his box is gone. We're not thieves…" Dean paused and thought about that. "Well, we are thieves, but we are also good people. And we will do our very best to stay out of his way from now on. Can you tell him that?" Dean asked the first ape in front of him.

He immediately spat on the ground and at Dean's shoes. "Keep the money and use it to pay for your funeral. It doesn't matter where you go, how far you fly. He will hunt you down and when he finally finds you—" He was cut off by a frustrated Dean, who kicked out and hit the ape right in the chest and pushed him right into the engine of the Impala behind him.

No one could survive that powerful engine. The sick crunching sound coming from it lasted a few moments. When it finally died down, Meg pushed the last of Dick's men forward towards Dean. She seemed to be enjoying this.

Dean continues, "Now here is the money Dick gave us for this job—"This time Dean was the one cut off by the remaining monkey.

"Right, you're not thieves. Job didn't work out. Got it! Right there with you." He grabbed the money and ran off as far away from the Impala as his trembling legs would take him. Dean seemed satisfied enough and motioned for Meg to board with him.

The sturdy ship closed up her doors behind them and sped quickly away to break atmo. They had one more chore to do before the night was done.


	10. Chapter 10

Notes: LAST CHAPTER! BWAH! I added more fluff to this because if I had only done what was in the firefly episode…there would have only been about 700 words instead of the 1700 words it is now. Your reviews make me feel wonderfully gooey on the inside! HEARTS!

Disclaimers: This is for entertainment and fangirl/boy satisfaction only. No money here, and I own nothing.

CHAPTER 10

The Impala was drifting through the quiet of space. Her crew was safe in her frame and they were safe in the inky freedom that was the open 'verse.

Sam and Dean were down in the hold moving the silver box onto the ramp to be blasted out into space. Gabriel and Balthazar were there as well, watching the proceedings with solemn gazes.

Chuck had wired up the box earlier with explosives that would blast once the detonator button was pressed, making sure that the poison would not be used, ever.

The two Winchester brothers moved out off the ramp and Dean went to close up the air lock. Sam approached the other set of brothers in the room. He noticed the stressed look on both of their faces. Sam could relate. Whenever Sam knew that Dean was suffering in anyway, it made Sam suffer just as hard. They were handling Castiel amazingly well, but they had to be hurting, seeing how their little brother had been torn up.

For a moment Sam was taken back to a time when he had recently lost Jess, the love of his life. He had fallen into a chasm and wallowed in darkness for what seemed like forever. Looking back he noticed that Dean had been there suffering right along with him. Dean may have been overjoyed to have gotten his brother back from school after so long of an absence, but Dean always looked sucker punched when Jess was brought up or Sam would suffer a nightmare, or when Sam took on the role of a soldier after so many years of fighting it tooth and nail.

Sam could see the same joy and pain in the Novak's eyes whenever they were with Castiel. But even with the world changing a person for the worse or better, all things start and end with family. It's the only constant Sam and Dean had ever had, and Sam prayed that the Novak's knew that as well.

Brought back to the present he looked to the two brothers, "How's Castiel doing?"

Gabriel smiled bitterly, "The same. One moment he's fine. Calm. Talking about home and memories. And then….he's speaking nonsense. Rambling about flowers and bees. Confused about the littlest things. Like a-" He seemed to be at a loss for words.

"Like a child." Dean had come up from behind and spoke in a surprisingly soft voice.

Gabriel and Balthazar nodded, "It's been hard to figure out what's wrong really. I don't know what was done to him for sure," Balthazar spared a glance at Gabriel who just shook his head. He didn't know for sure what had happened either. Obviously the Host had new techniques for training their children since Gabriel's departure.

Sam made sure he caught both set of eyes when he responded, "We will help in any way possible. We know what it's like to watch someone you love suffer." Sam didn't need to see Dean to know that he felt those words as well.

They didn't say anything to that, but the hesitant yet grateful looks sent to Sam and Dean were enough to give them all hope that maybe things could be fixed yet.

 

Sam handed the remote detonation control to Dean and went to open up the other end of the air lock. The great rush of changing pressure sent the box flying out into the black. Dean waited until the box was nothing more than a spec in the air lock window before pressing the button and blowing that box to oblivion.

That monstrosity taken care of, the two sets of brothers moved further into the ship to settle down for the night.

Walking back to their rooms in the crew's quarters, Sam kept on glancing at Dean. He was thinking about what Dean had said about Cas being like a child.

Thinking back to when they were children, Sam could see the care and gentleness that Dean had used in taking care of Sam govern Dean when he was around Castiel. Nobody knew the frailty of humanity more than Dean, and it seemed like his brother was determined to make sure that Cas didn't fall and shatter.

Sam watches sometimes when Castiel and Dean are close to one another. Like when Dean is cleaning his guns at the table and Castiel is nearby. The blue eyed man's gaze was constantly bouncing away to stare with intense focus at some ordinary object to another. Everything in the world was fascinating to him. He was childlike in that aspect for sure.

Dean's own gaze would flicker to Castiel, checking on him, sometimes even smiling gently at the wide eyed young man. Dean was taking to it all so well. Sam wasn't even sure why he was surprised. Dean had always had a soft spot underneath all of the gruff n' stuff. Sam knew because he remembered a soothing hand rubbing his back after a childhood nightmare or a hand ruffling his hair paired with a wide smile.

Sam had seen Dean take to Castiel so quickly. Almost like Castiel belonged or that Dean had been waiting for him, maybe even both. Sam had heard Cas and Dean talking that first night on the catwalk and he had seen the bond formed there. It caused and odd twist in Sam's heart to watch his brother, so hurt and broken himself, interacting with the defenseless man who had landed in their home on the Impala. Dean was open with Castiel in a way that he couldn't be with Sam.

It was almost like they were on the same level in a way. Castiel had bits and pieces torn out of him to be made "better". Dean had bits and pieces torn out of him to be "the perfect soldier". Sam couldn't help but hope that their weird bond or whatever could be good for both of them, that it could bring light back into their dark lives. Dean had been treading such a dark path before the Impala absorbed the new members. Sam didn't want him to fall into the abyss either. But form where Sam was standing, it looked like Castiel had a firm grip on Dean as well.

 

Gabriel and Balthazar tiredly trudged back to the passenger's quarters. Gabriel didn't sleep there as he had his own room with the rest of the crew, but he had wanted to say goodnight to Castiel.

The silence between the two brothers was bordering on awkward. The mutual desire to take care of Castiel had been enough for them to put their differences aside for a while, but the anger and doubt was still there beneath the surface. Gabriel knew he had to clear the air at least a little, so he stopped Balthazar with a hesitant grip to his arm. They were standing in the hallway just before entering the passenger's area. Their voices wouldn't carry.

"Brother, I need you to listen to me." Gabriel lifted his eyes to meet Balthazar's. He looked just as hesitant. He probably didn't want to talk about this and was fine pretending, but Gabriel was done with pretending.

"I know that you are angry that I left you and Castiel when you were children. I know that you are angry that I never came back. I know you blame me for what happened to our little brother. And I understand. I blame me too. But please know that at the time, it seemed like the best option for all of us. I learned…" His throat caught. "I learned some things while I was at the Host. And it was enough for me to know that home was no longer safe. I would have gone to get you two and we would have all run away together, but I had the Garrison looking for me. You were both still so young! I couldn't just rip you away from the only life you knew. You wouldn't have understood…"Gabriel was stopped there by Balthazar raising his hand.

"Gabriel…I'm not blaming you for what happened to Cassy. For that I blame myself for not paying attention and letting him sneak away. I also blame our father for disappearing. We were so lost without him to direct us. Cassy just wanted to fix our family. I know that you had to leave. I know that because I'm in the same boat as you now. A fugitive with the Garrison on his tail." They both exchanged wry grins. Balthazar continued, "But what I don't know is what you learned that made you think you couldn't come home." He paused and waited for Gabriel to respond.

"Balthazar, do you know why our father left home?" Gabriel shifted and his face was hidden in the shadows of the hallway.

"No. We don't even know what happened. We all know he wasn't around much to begin with, so when we stopped hearing from him for a few weeks, we thought nothing of it. But eventually we started to get worried. We looked and looked for any sign of him, but there was nothing. Just bloody poofed away. Some said he was dead, others said he ran away, and I thought he just didn't give a damn anymore." The bitterness in Balthazar's words stung at Gabriel.

Gabriel sighed deeply from the shadows. It almost sounded like he was in pain.

"I left because I found something out about our father. And I'm betting my left testicle that he left for the same damn reason….."His golden eyes flickered out from the shadows.

 

In his room, Castiel sat on his bed with his arms wrapped around his legs. His face was buried in his knees and he was rocking back and forth slowly. His eyes were wide and staring down. He was mumbling something quietly.

"Three by three, they will find me. Three by three, they will find me…."

 

Somewhere across the 'verse there is a dark skinned man sitting at a mahogany table in a lavish green room. On the table in front of him are three papers. The faces of Gabriel, Balthazar, and Castiel Novak stare back up from their photos on each separate piece of parchment.

The large hand picks up the paper that has Castiel's face on it, studying it intently. Two shadows of other men come up behind him and fall over the sheet, darkening the light that illuminated Castiel's photo.

All three of the figures now stare at the paper intently.


End file.
